Damian Jones

The Warriors’ status as perhaps the league’s deepest team has allowed general manager Bob Myers to prioritize talent and untapped potential in the draft the last few years rather than NBA-ready contributors with lower ceilings, and Jones’ selection with the final pick of the...

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr confirmed Saturday that Jones would be in line for an extended stay with Golden State's G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, Mark Medina of The San Jose Mercury News reports. "He's going to spend a lot of time down there," Kerr said of Jones. "There's no point in him coming up here and sitting on the bench. He needs to play. I could see bringing him up every once in a while and giving him some playing time. If we had an injury or something. But for the most part, he needs to play. So he'll spend a lot of time there."

The Warriors selected Jones with the final pick of the first round in the June draft, marking the second straight season they've chosen a project big man in the first round after grabbing power forward Kevon Looney a year earlier. Like Looney, Jones won't be asked to challenge a rotation spot as a rookie and carries injury risk. He required surgery in June to repair a torn pectoral muscle, which caused him to sit out summer league and figures to sideline him throughout preseason play. The missed development time during training camp will likely prevent Jones from logging more than a handful of appearances in the first half of the season, but that shouldn't dim the luster on the Warriors' investment. The center position is the Warriors' weakest on the roster, and with Zaza Pachulia and Anderson Varejao both on the downside of their careers and on short-term deals with the club, Jones could have a path to fantasy relevance as soon as 2017-18 if his performance in practices, D-League games and his limited opportunities with the Warriors warrant it. While his college numbers from last season at Vanderbilt didn't really pop, Jones' physical attributes are matched by few center prospects. At seven feet and 244 pounds with an outstanding 7-foot-3.75 wingspan, Jones has impressive size and length, and packs plenty of athleticism into his frame. He's unlikely to be the kind of player capable of creating his own shot, but with Stephen Curry and plenty of other talents surrounding him, Jones won't ever be tasked with shouldering a major offensive load.